Structural properties of the solar flare-producing coronal current system developed in an
emerging magnetic flux tube
The activity of a magnetic structure formed in the solar corona depends on a coronal
current system developed in the structure, which determines how an electric current
flows in the corona. To investigate structural properties of the coronal current system
responsible for producing a solar flare, we perform magnetohydrodynamic simulation
of an emerging magnetic flux tube which forms a coronal magnetic structure. Investigation
using fractal dimensional analysis and electric current streamlines reveals that
the flare-producing coronal current system relies on a specific coronal current structure
of two-dimensional spatiality, which has a sub-region where a nearly anti-parallel magnetic
field configuration is spontaneously generated. We discuss the role of this locally
generated anti-parallel magnetic field configuration in causing the reconnection of a
three-dimensional magnetic field, which is a possible mechanism for producing a flare.
We also discuss how the twist of a magnetic flux tube affects structural properties of a
coronal current system, showing how much volume current flux is carried into the corona
by an emerging flux tube. This gives a way to evaluate the activity of a coronal magnetic
structure.
Reference
Magara, T.
Publication of Astronomical Society of Japan, 69, 5
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